Newbie needs toning advice

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purple flowers

0
Hi all-
I'm a complete newcomer to exercise, so please bear with me if I seem stupid.
I've been doing squats and lunges for a couple of months, and today my husband told me my legs are getting bulky and my butt is getting bigger. I'm just looking to tone up what I have- I'm lucky to have a round butt that doesn't need to be any more pronounced, just less jiggly. My outer and back thighs are a mess, in desperate need of firming.
I don't have any equipment, I just use 5 pound hand weights. If it matters, I'm 5'4" 113 pounds, 38 years old, and I've been doing hatha yoga (not work-out yoga) for twenty years. I don't diet, just eat in moderation.
Can anyone let me know what exercises I can do that will make me more toned than muscular? My arms looks great, I'm happy with the toning there, but I don't want to look like a speed skater from the waist down :)
Thank you to anyone who could help!
 
Well to be honest squats and lunges are two of the best exercises you can do for your legs. I'm thinking that what you are eating is making you, as you call it, jiggly. You may eat in moderation, but WHAT are you eating ?? Drink lots of water also. Also at 5'4" and 113 lbs, I can't imagine a lot of "jiggle". That seems a bit slim at that height. JMO !!
 
OK, it's not that much jiggle, just enough to annoy me :)
I eat lots of carbs and chicken and chocolate. And I don't skimp on fats, either. That sounds terrible, I know, I'm just lucky to have good metabolism and a thin frame. I drink only diluted fruit juice.
Will cutting down on fatty foods and adding some cardio to my routine help me to be more toned? I thought that was only necessary if weight loss is part of the goal, not just tightening what I already have. But I'm a clueless exercise novice, and I'll take any advice you can give!
 
purple flowers said:
OK, it's not that much jiggle, just enough to annoy me :)
I eat lots of carbs and chicken and chocolate. And I don't skimp on fats, either. That sounds terrible, I know, I'm just lucky to have good metabolism and a thin frame. I drink only diluted fruit juice.
Will cutting down on fatty foods and adding some cardio to my routine help me to be more toned? I thought that was only necessary if weight loss is part of the goal, not just tightening what I already have. But I'm a clueless exercise novice, and I'll take any advice you can give!
Click to expand...

You do need to eat carbs, but it should be in the form of vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta, brown rice, etc. You should also be eating 5-6 smaller healthy meals a day, with a protein and a carb in each meal. Proteins include, chicken, turkey, lean meats, egg whites, fish, cottage cheese, to name a few. If you are doing cardio AND weight training and eating properly, you should add muscle and lose bodyfat, and you wouldn't necessarily be losing weight. And by adding muscle and losing bodyfat you would look more "toned" Drink water also :)
 
I agree with JPC...to get less "jiggly" you need to lose some bodyfat (not necessarily weight) which means you need to clean up your diet, exercise, and drink water. Yoga is very good but you also need to do weight training and cardio.

~teresa
 
I'd also increase your strength training. That will not bulk you up. Women do not bulk up from strength training unless they devote their life to it (competition), take steroids or are in the small percentage of women who have a high level of teststerone (which still means it's hard to "bulk" up).

Get your nutrition in check first. Continue hatha yoga (I teach that and LOVE it!!) and get a full body strength training program going on. The more lean muscle you have (not big bulky muscles) the more calories you burn. One pound of fat burns 5 calories per day. ONE POUND OF MUSCLE BURNS 35-50 CALORIES PER DAY!

Here are 5 tips to fat loss to get you started...

1) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Each meal should be 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should contain one protein and one carb. The first meal should be eaten within an hour after waking.


2) Drink lots of water :)


3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 24-48 hours between strength training the same muscles, and it also means getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Lastly, it means taking 1-2 days off from exercising per week.


4) Cardio. This should be done at different intensity levels and different session lengths. Consider doing a low intensity/long session, a high intensity/short session and a few medium intensity/medium length sessions.


5) Strength Training. Strength train each muscle 1-3 times per week. You should lift a proper weight and perform the proper amount of sets/reps for your strength training method. If you need more guidance or exercise ideas you can head over


All of the above things combined will result in fat loss. Best of luck. Namaste. ;)
 
The reason your things and butt may appear bigger (though I'm a little annoyed with your husband for even saying that) is because you are building muscle UNDERNEATH the fat. This always happens to me in a weight gain cycle, as my pants get tighter, except I'm working out.

Remember that when you build muscle, it's not magic. The muscle does not replace the fat. These are two separate actions. You build muscle. You lose fat. Building muscle will give you more shape to your legs and reduce jiggle (since more of your thigh size will be muscle as opposed to just fat).

You have to eat clean to reduce the fat over those muscles. Eat more fruit and whole grains instead of diluted fruit juice and lots of carbs. Eat small amounts of dark chocolate when cravings hit (remember--you can have a little and be satisfied). Drink a ton of water and stay away from high-salt foods, since these will make you look more swollen, due to water retention. Make sure you get good lean proteins (the chicken you mention is good, as long as it's broiled or lightly browned in high-oleic safflower oil). Grilling is great for the summer. I'd work to incorporate more fish in your diet, too, either shellfish or finfish, though as you get older, you'll want to reduce shellfish, since women have more risk of high cholesterol past 50 (though obviously you have a lot of time--just ideas for later on).

Keep doing those exercises. When you couple weight-bearing exercises with cardio and clean eating, you'll get results fast.
 
Purple flowers, I think that you doing well and may be the only thing you need is some fresh change. Sometimes when I do a kind of workout routine for a long time, the routine slowly stops to influence my body.

In this moment I know that I need to make a change - I stop going on gym and start aerobics classes, or start callanetics. If you are stucked, may be you need to add new assanas to your yoga, or to add/change hips exercises.

Our bodies are very clever and try to adapt to every situation. For example you try to increasy your energy burn with exercises and doing the same exercise every day you teach your body to do it in "save energy mode".

So make a change, suprise your body, give it some new challange.

Success :)
 
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I think the title of this forum is somewhat misleading, as "toning" doens't really exist.

No activity or exercize will actually 'tighten' a specific area of your body. Exercize will either burn bodyfat or build muscle, usually both at the same time but to different degrees.

To get less jiggly you need to burm bodyfat, fat is what jiggles.
 
Right direction!

Purple,

I think that you are doing fantastic! The most important thing is...how do you feel? If you are really concerned about the size thing, there are plenty of people on here that can tell you exactly how to shrink those zones. I like kettlebells for strength without bulk, but only a diet rich in natural foods, small meals throughout the day, and exercise will raise your matabolism to the point that it burns fat on its own.

But really, if you have more energy and enjoy life more, you are WAY ahead of the curve.
 
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